Will iconic images recorded in the grooves of an ancient vase unite the Holy Land or rip it further apart?

THE VASE

A novel by Mark M. DeRobertis

Muhsin Muhabi is a Palestinian potter, descended from a long line of potters. His business is run from the same shop owned by his ancestors since the day his forebears moved to Nazareth. The region's conflict saw the death of his oldest son, and rogue terrorists are in the process of recruiting his youngest in their plot to assassinate the Pope and Israeli prime minister.

Professor Hiram Weiss is an art historian at Nazareth’s Bethel University. He is also a Shin Bet operative on special assignment. With the help of fellow agent, Captain Benny Mathias, he plans to destroy the gang responsible for the death of his wife and only child. He puts a bomb in the ancient vase he takes on loan from Muhsin’s Pottery Shop.

Mary Levin, the charming assistant to the director of Shin Bet, has lost a husband and most of her extended family to recurring wars and never-ending terrorism. She dedicates her life to the preservation of Israel, but to whom will she dedicate her heart? The brilliant professor from Bethel University? Or the gallant captain who now leads Kidon?

Harvey Holmes, the Sherlock of Haunted Houses, is a Hollywood TV host whose reality show just flopped. When a Lebanese restaurant owner requests his ghost-hunting services, he believes the opportunity will resurrect his career. All he has to do is exorcise the ghosts that are haunting the restaurant. It happens to be located right across the street from Muhsin’s Pottery Shop.




Monday, October 19, 2015

Walking Dead Continues to Shine

Not sure if 'shine' is the right word, but episode 2 of season 6 was a good one. That doesn't mean I don't have issues with parts of it. Or at least one part of it. It's the belief in the value of all human life. I mean when someone has already killed a lot of people in your community, and is trying their best to kill you, at what point do you stop valuing that particular person's life? I would say right about that point. I mean the point where said person has already brutally murdered several of your friends, and is trying his/her best to brutally murder you.

Yet the character Morgan is still bent on not taking anyone's life. But in the very end, that belief might have been overcome. I'm talking about the scene near the end where he may actually have killed the dude trying to kill him. The show didn't make it certain, but it did make it possible that Morgan finally crossed that line. He used his stick to lay one final smack on the dude trying to kill him. But the show didn't confirm that Morgan actually killed him. The show did convey that it was possible Morgan killed him, but didn't confirm it.

And if Morgan actually did kill the dude, then I can dismiss that particular issue with the show. Which leaves me with one more issue. The older son of Pete. Pete was the child and wife beater, who turned into a murderer when he murdered Deanna's kind-hearted husband. I don't remember the son's name, but he's the older one, and he's in that teenaged rebellious phase, even during the vicious attack by the Wolves which nearly cost him his life. He was saved by Carl, but of course, he doesn't appreciate that fact, nor does he offer a hint of gratitude for having his life saved.

To me, that's not realistic. Unless they're trying to make this guy the world's biggest douche, which is possible, making him a candidate for Zombie fodder. That just might be the objective, and if it is, then there goes my last issue with the show.

Let me say I liked what I saw with Carol, and even the priest guy was making some strides toward being a likable character. Here's hoping that continues, and the show will continue to shine.
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